Recruitment: Behind the Crown, 3rd Edition Shadowrun , 2060 Options

[pbangarth]

Yeah, but in my experience, the first shot is often the only shot.

[ntwi]

This post is a long time in coming. I had seen pbangrath's comment elsewhere about a SR3 PbP starting up. I still had to sort out how reliably I could post here across the mid and long term with the vagaries of the real life job, but it's looking promising at this point. Finally, it just takes some time to undo lurker mode after a few years. My IC posts will probably be a little rough as it's been a few years for a PbP, but I can finish up the Rigger/Electronics guy I had started building for my in person game (before shifting to a Troll Adept Face).

A couple of questions as I'm working to finish him up.
Books: You had stated "main book, and the companion, with limited excursions to the Grimoire as appropriate." If we are running 3rd which of the following are in play: Man and Machine, Rigger 3 Revised, Matrix, Canon Companion

Cyberware: Man and Machine or just the core book?
Bioware: Can I start with Cultured Bioware that is completely legal (and probably supported by the corp)? I.E. Sleep Regulator and Cerebral Booster? Is Man and Machine even allowed?
Vehicles and Rigging: I'm presuming Rigger 3 Revised is the guide book here.
Decking: Are you planning on running this straight out of the book or fewer more generic Computer(Decking) rolls? The Cyberdeck starts getting expensive fast if I need to build a solid one, and the "required" headware (Math SPU etc) will hurt too. Alternatively, our exit plan from the corp might have to include acquiring one. How much programming of my own programs vs buying them could be done before we start?
Contacts: I can't remember what book came from, (NSCRG doesn't tell me which one) but can we purchase additional contacts at chargen? 5k per lvl 1, 20k for a lvl 2? Do you want these fleshed out or left as (Lvl 1 Bartender or Lvl 2 Lone Star Dispatcher) so that you can fit them into your universe more easily?


Location: I saw a mention of Seattle in your first post, is that the planned location for the satellite office or where are we based?
Time: 2060? (My in person game just started in the early 2050's so some of the people can experience the classics for the first time. It's been a fun challenge to keep straight what the character knows and when he doesn't know to wear the brown trousers. (United Brotherhood? Sounds like a friendly group of people)

Sorry for the massive list of questions, but Carlos (Sparky) should be coming forth shortly, or at least a rough draft of him.

[Koekepan]

Welcome to the party, ntwi! It won't hurt after you get used to the needles.

I was trying to keep the book madness to a reasonably dull roar at first, but I don't intend to be hopelessly strict about it, so I'll tell you what: tell me which bits you want, and we can negotiate (as per your post here).

I'd be OK with sleep regulator and cerebral booster. Others on a per-case basis.

I'm fine with Rigger 3 in terms of rules and options, but I'd reserve the right of veto on particular items, or at least modifying costs, even if I allow particular items (which might push them outside your desirability range - ca va sans dire).

Decking: yeah, it's always expensive in third. My intention is to run by the rules as written, but find opportunities to condense rolls without modifying the system too horribly. Yes, decks are expensive (which is why I was proposing a cyberterminal for a potential solo campaign to pbangarth), but I can offer you a way out on the headware, if you'd rather shell out for 'trode net. If you think that you can rip off the corp on the way out, that's fine too (and not insane - but not a guarantee either; you'll have to keep your eyes open and hands grabby). I can be pretty forgiving about programming vs buying, depending on background and skills.

Contacts: yes, additional contacts are fine. I prefer to do the fleshing out of contacts.

As per my post above, you're in the Seattle enclave, but the actual office is in the southeast corner of the Enclave. A landmark that I gave was Tumwater, which you can look up on Wikipedia.

Time: 2060, as posted. Don't take the standard timeline as gospel, from this point out.

[pbangarth]

Awesome! I had contacted another person re: the rigger/decker, but haven't heard back. Glad to see someone on board, ntwi! This takes a load off my mind.

[pbangarth]

ntwi, wait'll you see Connor's pathetic attempt at decking. You will cringe! Lots of opportunity for in-game ribbing.

[Koekepan]

Yup, one magician and one techie makes for a much more viable party already. It isn't a campaign that will require you to take on the CAS army or wreck a city, so while there's nothing wrong with a carbine, you shouldn't feel underpowered just because you don't happen to have a Panther-equipped troll around. Just be prepared to think creatively about your problems.

Of course, if someone from TrogDestruct shows up, that's always still an option (provided it's corporate-friendly enough for the campaign).

[pbangarth]

Redone Connor Tupalev in post #18.

Be afraid! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[ntwi]

Yes, messaging the security decker and asking politely for root access is a method of decking... Not a recommended one but it is a method.

[pbangarth]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Koekepan]

pbangarth: A couple of things cropped up in my first pass. (I didn't do the math yet.)

Mostly pretty good, but you went bananas on Will. Given he starts out with boosted Will anyway, what's the logic behind the additional sustaining focus on the increase attribute?

Bear in mind that it's not guaranteed that the spell gets you 4 points up of Will; it gets you up to the spell's force in additional points, with a target number of the prior value (which in your case would be 8 ).

I'll allow the boosting of willpower (what the hell, everybody has some gimmick) but I don't think that spell and that focus make sense, especially given the mathematics involved.

However, if you're bound and determined to roll for it and keep it around, I might not stop you. Just roll my eyes a lot.

It also looks as if you left a contact out, or something? There's a blank Level 1 contact.

Finally, you might be able to pull back on the cyberterminal and so on, if ntwi will be taking on that side of things. You could then maybe work the security/infiltration angle a bit more, perhaps? Not demanding, just thinking out loud based on the recommended skill profile for the party.

[pbangarth]

Yeah, Connor's cyber skills are negligible, so if a real decker shows up, I'll be happy to rejig that part.

As for the WIL, yeah there is no guarantee on any roll, but I am sleazing in that before the campaign starts, and in any rest period in between runs, he can try and retry till he hits the sweet spot. At any point in the campaign, it would be somewhere in between 8 and 12.

WIL is useful for all pools he has, is necessary for Drain resistance, and resistance to a lot of what opposing Magic might try. And Willpower is Connor's schtick. Nietzche and all that.

And, come on! Have you -ever- seen a PC with a WIL of 12? I haven't. I know other aspects of this PC are a bit light. Since 1st edition I have never played WIL 12. I'd like to give it a shot.

Yeah, I forgot to think up the other Contact. I'll get on that.

[Koekepan]

Your impassioned plea has touched my tormented heart.

I'll let you roll for your WIL boost, and suck up the drain every time. If only because, while admittedly it usually wouldn't be a big deal, when it does fail on you, it might count. By my math, at force 4, that's a 3 target number and drain M. You'd need 4 successes to reduce the drain to nothing, which you'd probably usually get ... until you don't, and then you get a pre-emptive headache! And of course, retrying adds up the odds of a failure.

This might be amusing. OK, I'll allow it. And I'll let you and ntwi arm-wrestle for the ineluctable privilege of being the team decker. Whacking him with a cyberterminal first is cheating.

Edited to add: Wait, just noticed it's also exclusive, but you can't reduce the target number below 2, so while the odds are better, it's still risky. All you have to do is be lucky every time.

[pbangarth]

Your impassioned plea has touched my tormented heart.

I'll let you roll for your WIL boost, and suck up the drain every time. If only because, while admittedly it usually wouldn't be a big deal, when it does fail on you, it might count. By my math, at force 4, that's a 3 target number and drain M. You'd need 4 successes to reduce the drain to nothing, which you'd probably usually get ... until you don't, and then you get a pre-emptive headache! And of course, retrying adds up the odds of a failure.

This might be amusing. OK, I'll allow it. And I'll let you and ntwi arm-wrestle for the ineluctable privilege of being the team decker. Whacking him with a cyberterminal first is cheating.

Oh, yeah, I don't expect him to have WIL 12 all the time. Especially since the target for the spell is 8 to begin with! I'm not going to keep retrying in the middle of a run. But anything at 8 or over is good. Retrying till the sweet spot is attained is only for off/in-between times. So, in an off-time, he would cast the spell and dump all his spell pool into the casting, knowing he will have time to sleep it off. That would be 11 dice which might get him two successes, then use the karma pool for 9 dice more, maybe one more, two if lucky. If not, try again tomorrow. During a run, he will need spell pool to help Drain, so if something causes the spell to drop, he is not likely to get up there again till the next run. But, oh, until it drops!

And hey, if opponent X wants to dispel the sustained boost, that means she is not shooting at Connor. Connor won't be idle while that happens. It's like the dog the police officer sends ahead to grab the gunman's arm. A primary reason for the dog is to take the bullet for the cop.

Arm wrestle? Have you seen his strength? Oh. Wait. A rigger might be just as much a wimp. No, it's OK, it's all yours ntwi, if you want it.

As an aside, in college I had a buddy who was ... strong. There was a 'fun day' in one of the cafeterias, games of all sorts including an arm wrestling competition. Plywood over two hobby horses made the table. In his first match, my buddy put the other guy's arm down so hard, it broke the table. Yeah, my friend won the competition.

Edited to add: Wait, just noticed it's also exclusive, but you can't reduce the target number below 2, so while the odds are better, it's still risky. All you have to do is be lucky every time.

It's exclusive for karma/build points, not Drain, so the target is still 3. Remember, though, he can cast it at a lower Force (eg. 3) in the thick of things if he wants to reduce Drain. If he wants to. It's Willpower, not Wisdom.


Hmmm. Should we happen to end up in the shadows, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) , I'm going to have to think up a street name for Connor.

[Koekepan]

Hmmm. Should we happen to end up in the shadows, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) , I'm going to have to think up a street name for Connor.

A Nietzsche fan like him? How could it be anything other than Friedrich?

It's funnier if you know the derivation of the name.

[pbangarth]

Yeah, if I had chosen the Pacifist Flaw (really?? A -flaw-?? Fucking game.) it would be perfect.

Aelfric is, unfortunately, "elf ruler".

"Dweorgric" would fit, but who the hell would be able to pronounce it? Well, maybe some of those Fenris freaks, maybe.

[Koekepan]

Conner "Superman" ... it seems to fit.

[ntwi]

Time to put the bones on here at least, still working through the nuyen and numbers on the details.

The basic concept: Carlos "Ein Mas" was far too smart for his own good, cruising through school without much effort. He rode a E-Sport scholarship to school but the higher level of attention quickly found the scholarship pulled as his cheats were not slick enough to pass the higher level of scrutiny. Bouncing back to tech school, he found himself distracted by many topics, becoming passable at them before loosing interest and chasing another shiny field. He found a love for street racing, datajack driving early on before diving into the world of rigging. Escaping into the Matrix and his heavily modded 3220 allow him to escape from the reality of rigging forklifts each day at the warehouse. He's slowly built up his collection of drones over time, upgrading the Condor heavily to record the street racing and avoiding the cops after the races.

The crunchy stuff

[ Spoiler ]

Using the Sum to 10 method, my preferred when creating mundane humans.

Resources: 1,000,000Y (4)
Skills: 50 (4)
Attributes: 24 (2)
Race: Human (0)
Magic: Mundane (0)

Attributes (Including Bio mods)
Bod: 4
Str: 3
Qck: 7
Int: 9
Cha: 2
Wil: 5
Reaction: 10
Combat Pool: 10
Control Pool: 12
Hacking Pool: 8

Edge/Flaw:

[ Spoiler ]

-2 Impulsive
+2 Bonus Attribute Point (Int)

Skills:

[ Spoiler ]

2 Unarmed
4 Pistol
6 Gunnery
3 Athletics
5 Stealth
6 Electronics
6 Electronics B/R
6 Computer
4 Computer B/R
5 Car
1 LTA Operation
2 Crawler

Skillsoft Chips: (4,800Y each, 28,800Y total)
Biotech 4
Car B/R 4
LTA B/R 4
Crawler B/R 4
Etiquette 4
Negotiation 4

Knowledge Skills:

[ Spoiler ]

4 Cybertechnology
4 Engineering
4 Application Design
4 Cyberterminal Code Design
3 Corporate Hosts
5 Street Racing
3 Seattle Junkyards
3 Data Havens
2 Gang Turf
2 Pirate Trid Broadcasters
3 Corporate Security
4 Security Systems
2 Police Procedures
2 Popular Culture

Language
6 English
3 English R/W
2 Japanese
1 Japanese R/W
1 German

Bioware:

[ Spoiler ]

(220,000Y and 3.1 Bio Index)
Enhanced Articulation
Super Thyroid Gland - (The tech geeks dietware, drink all the Mountain Dew and eat all the junk food you want)
Cerebral Booster 2
Sleep Regulator

Cyberware:

[ Spoiler ]

(191,000Y and 4.8 Essence lost)
Eyes - Microscopic Vision, Imagelink mods in my natural eyes
Vehicle Control Rig 2
Chipjack w/ Expert Chipjack Driver R3
Skillwires R4 (48Mp)
Math SPU R3

Vehicles:

[ Spoiler ]

(68,160Y)
49,160Y Honda-GM 3220 (Engine Customization, Turbocharging 2, Drive by Wire 1, Photovoltaic Paint, Morphing License Place, Transponder Library R6)
19,000Y Nissan-Holden Brumby

Drones:

[ Spoiler ]

(92,350Y)
25,000Y GM-N Doberman
48,650Y A.S. LSD-41 Condor Mini-Blimp (Upgraded to Sensor 4)
18,700Y 2x Shiawase Kanmushi

,
Personal Gear:

[ Spoiler ]

53,570Y
R3 Fake ID - CalFree
Armor - Secure Jacket, Secure Long Coat, Secure Vest, Ordinary Clothing, Fine Clothing
Pocket Secretary
Skillsoft Jukebox 48mp, 7 ports
Electronics, Computer and Vehicle Toolkits
Remote Control Deck R6
Signal Amplifier R6
Scanner R6
Dataline Tap R6
Dataline Scanner R6
Bug Scanner R6
Survival Kit
Medkit

Weapons:

[ Spoiler ]

9,900Y
Ares Viper Slivergun in Concealed Quickdraw Holster (60 rds Flechette)
Ingram Valiant LMG on Doberman Firmpoint (2,000 rds normal)
Enfield AS-7 w/ 50rd drum in Doberman Turret (100rds Slug)
1x Anti-Vehicle Rocket - Not normally loaded on anything

Contacts:

[ Spoiler ]

110,000Y for 19x Lvl 1, 1 Lvl 2
1. Lvl 2 - Neo-A Trid Pirate (Opti was the mental image I had. https://neo-anarchist.com/ Feel free to change as you desire)
2. Data Haven
3. Rigger
4. Go-Ganger
5. Bartender
6. Corp Scientist
7. Street Doc
8. Security Decker
9. Mafia Soldier
10. Ork Nation Organizer
11. Lone Star Dispatcher
12. Club Owner
13. Shark Lawyer
14. Gunsmith
15. ID Manufacturer
16. Talent Scout
17. Dock Worker
18. Taxi Driver
19. Technician
20. Troll Street Sam
Free1. Fixer
Free2. Electronics Shop

Matrix:

[ Spoiler ]

254,600Y
Novatech Hyperdeck-6
R6 Analyze
R6 Browse
R3 Commlink
R6 Deception
R6 Decrypt
R6 Read/Write
R6 Relocate
R6 Scanner
R6 Spoof
R6 Sleaze
R6 Attack M

20 Questions

[ Spoiler ]

BACKGROUND:
1) Where's your character from?
Carlos grew up in the University Place/Steilacoom area, a solid A zone, for his early life. His Dad was a low level manager in Renraku providing for the family before he left. After Dad left the picture, Carlos and his mother moved to the Federal Way (B zone) to save money. He grew up in the Seattle Metroplex, seeing both the good and bad sides of town.
2) Does your character have a family?
It turns out that good ol’ dad really didn’t want to have kids, and so he traded in for a newer model, leaving Carlos and his mom Delores with almost nothing. Delores worked a secretarial job for Renraku and managed to get a prized spot to move into the Arcology when it opened, while Carlos was away at UW. This turned out poorly for her when Dues took over and like so many others, she was never heard from again.
3) Does your character have an ethnic background?
Carlos is more tan than the average person in the Seattle Metroplex but does not claim any specific heritage (other than one drunk incident in school where he claimed to be the lovechild of an immoral elf. Needless to say it did not go over well with the hot elven girl at the party)
APPEARANCE
4) What does your character look like?
He’s about 5’7” (170cm) and 160lbs (73kg) with dark hair and brown eyes. He often has a lingering scent of grease or solder from working on his gear.
5) What does your character dress like?
While he has a couple nice suits in his closet and can dress stylish to go out, Carlos is found more often than not in a set of coveralls with multiple pocket tools handy for fixing and tweaking drone and equipment.
6) Does your character have physical quirks?
Carlos is always checking his pocket secretary for messages or data, even though it’s semi-permanently jacked into his head.
SKILLS, ATTRIBUTES, AND RESOUCES
7) Where did your character learn their Active Skills?
His years at UW provided much of his Electronics and Computer skills, while he picked up his driving skills on the street becoming fairly successful at street racing.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) Where did your character learn their Knowledge Skills?
Carlos spent a year at UW before losing his E-Game scholarship. He spent the next three years at UW-Tacoma graduating with a degree in Micro-Electronics. He bounced between several degree paths during his time, including Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.
9) Where did your character get his goodies?
He’s built and rebuilt most of his drones, vehicles and electronics over the years, and programmed much of his software. Other software he’s traded and swapped for on the ShadowNet. His bioware (Cerebral Booster and Sleep Regulator) was discounted by the corp, while his cyberware generally came from favors that he has provided and used.
10) Where does your character live?
(Presuming this is the very southern end of the Sprawl and still UCAS) [Middle Lifestyle (lower security zone, larger space)] Carlos has an old car repair shop on the south side of 512 where he is on good terms with the local gang. This gives him the space for his drones and vehicles and allows him to get away from LoneStar easier when they try to raid the races.
11) Who are your character's contacts?
Carlos has made a point of trading favors with lots of people and helping them out with electronics. He is working hard on building up quite the rolodex of people that he knows and trades favors with.
12) Who are your character's enemies?
While he has pissed off more than a few people over the years, Carlos is unaware of anyone who truly views him as an enemy, although there have been some sore losers in the street racing scene.
13) How did your character learn magic?
Shamanic magic frustrates him as it follows no logical rules but changes with every totem and the whims of the totems. He finds it much easier to work with Hermetics as their effects are simpler to predict and plan for. He still calls it bullshit and cheating however he’s even more unsure about the bioslime created magical effects the corp is creating. With magicians there is always a cost that is being paid, in the back of his mind he worries who or what is paying for these effects.
PERSONALITY
14) What are your character's likes and dislikes?
Carlos has started to fear and hate the data panopticon of the corps. His Neo-A contact has strongly influenced the growth of his split with the corp world. He loves the adrenaline rush of street racing and enjoys leading the cops into go-gang barricades when they try and break up the illegal races.
15) What is your character's moral code?
He’s certainly being sucked into the mindset of the Neo-A movement, leaning heavily to personal freedoms and personal responsibility although he’s starting to disassociate damage to corps with hurting shareholders and workers. He certainly will try and avoid unnecessary deaths, although he’s never worried much about the lives of the cops he leads into go-gang barricades.
16) Does your character have goals?
More drones, faster cars and attractive women of purchasable affection.
17) Does your character have personal beliefs?
He is being sucked into the Neo-A mindset by his charismatic Neo-A contact although he is agnostic in his beliefs. The loss of his mother to Deus made him reassess his perspective on technology, which is why he programs or closely reviews the source code of all programs that he uses along with going over his electronics with a close eye.
18) Does your character have personality quirks?
He always checks out the electronics that anyone around him is using, and often having his electronics sniffing out the software versions that people around him are using.
RUNNING THE SHADOWS
19) Why does your character run the shadows?
Carlos enjoys fast cars, drones and computers, all of which have been a struggle to pay for as a wage slave. He’s made a little off street racing and more doing quasi-legal work on the side. He’s pretty sure that he’s done digital legwork for runners before, planting backdoors and access on systems for others, as well as causing “innocent” distractions for response teams. Rigging forklifts moving around barrels of biological slime just does not make for a prosperous life.
20) How does your character view his/her role as a shadowrunner?
Carlos is well aware of the power of corps, and how much they know and control. As a Rigger/Decker he is well aware of the digital thumbprint most people leave behind and just how revealing that information can be. After the Renraku Arcology went offline, taking his mother with it, his trust in the corps hit an all time low. He’s frustrated at the amount of control the corps have over his life even now, and dreams of somehow slipping through their fingers (while still maintain a high quality of life…. He may find himself quite disappointed in the future)

[Koekepan]

Using the Sum to 10 method, my preferred when creating mundane humans.

No problem

Attributes (Including Bio mods)
Bod: 4
Str: 3
Qck: 7
Int: 9
Cha: 2
Wil: 5
Reaction: 10
Combat Pool: 10
Control Pool: 12
Hacking Pool: 8

You know, some people might think that I'd balk at this, but then I think of a couple of guys I knew, who were definitely geniuses. One worked as a mechanic, another as a regular, run-of-the-mill programmer. Either could have been a college professor - they just didn't think that it was better than the job that they had. So sure, combination of crazy high augmented intelligence and impulsive flaw? I'm OK with this. It's also consistent with having a stock of skillsofts.

I didn't do the math on his current essence level. Given the half cost of the lesser option, I'm eyeballing it that he's still alive, but only barely. Is that your calculation as well?

Contacts:
1. Security Decker
2. Data Haven
3. Rigger
4. Go-Ganger
5. Bartender
6. Corp Scientist
7. Street Doc
8. Neo-A Trid Pirate
9. Mafia Soldier
10. Ork Nation Organizer
11. Lone Star Dispatcher
12. Club Owner
13. Shark Lawyer
14. Gunsmith
15. ID Manufacturer
16. Talent Scout
17. Dock Worker
18. Taxi Driver
19. Technician
20. Troll Street Sam
Free1. Fixer
Free2. Electronics Shop

I like it. Someone who doesn't skimp on contacts. When you have your final list (whether it's this list or different) I'll flesh them out for you.

One more question, would I be using Stealth to get away from an illegal street race when the cops crash it without drawing attention? There's not a "vehicle" specialization but it seemed reasonable, otherwise there is no reason for him to be that stealthy. Thoughts, opinions and "what are you smoking" are all welcome.

There are multiple ways of getting out of the net. Stealth is one option, and I'm fine with it as a tool in his kit. It'll be everything from knowing when to duck off a highway to slide under an overpass, changing the paint hue while slipping under trees in a leafy suburb, tagging along with a funeral procession, dodging behind a big rig - all that stuff counts as stealth when you're the size of a car.

Of course, mounting rockets on a Condor could also do something about it ... not that I'm suggesting anything.

[pbangarth]

Yes, I'm very glad for your long list of contacts, ntwi. In rejigging Connor to be on his own, I sacrificed in that essential area among others.

And from the lengthening list of background characters in the OOC thread, I can see Koekepan is -really- into that aspect of the game.

[Koekepan]

If you're running in gangland, and there isn't intrigue? Someone's doing something wrong.

Ditto, the business world.

It's all incestuous circles. And in that context, who would be surprised at vicious ratfight tactics? Nobody fights like family.

[Koekepan]

Once your character is sorted out, it's good form to do the 20 questions thing about your character's person and history.

[ntwi]

I'm still working through the questions to flesh out his personality, and transcribing from random notebooks onto the computer. With regards to his essence, 3rd edition had a separate Bio-Index with a maximum of your remaining essence + 3, along with initially a very clunky separate system for Magic loss. The errata I am familiar with changed the magic loss to simply 1/2 of the Bio-Index but left it alone for mundane characters (slower healing and lowered toxin/disease resistance based on the amount of bioware).

If that's not the case I'll need to rejigger him, as he'd be dead. (or chip loose 60k somewhere and try to get the VCR 2 to alphaware to save 0.6 essence)

[pbangarth]

Happy to do the 20 questions.

Here's one for you, Koekepan. I am suffering under the proactive interference of SR4. I can't find in the SR3 book whether shamans can have in active service more than one nature spirit at a time. Can they?

I know a shaman in an environment of multiple domains, a shaman could summon a spirit in one, assign it services, then refocus to another domain and summon another spirit. But could he summon two air spirits to work for him (one summoning after the other, of course) and be on call?

[Koekepan]

I'm still working through the questions to flesh out his personality, and transcribing from random notebooks onto the computer. With regards to his essence, 3rd edition had a separate Bio-Index with a maximum of your remaining essence + 3, along with initially a very clunky separate system for Magic loss. The errata I am familiar with changed the magic loss to simply 1/2 of the Bio-Index but left it alone for mundane characters (slower healing and lowered toxin/disease resistance based on the amount of bioware).

If that's not the case I'll need to rejigger him, as he'd be dead. (or chip loose 60k somewhere and try to get the VCR 2 to alphaware to save 0.6 essence)

You're right - I confused magic loss with the bio-index. It's OK, keep on trucking.

[Koekepan]

Happy to do the 20 questions.

Here's one for you, Koekepan. I am suffering under the proactive interference of SR4. I can't find in the SR3 book whether shamans can have in active service more than one nature spirit at a time. Can they?

I know a shaman in an environment of multiple domains, a shaman could summon a spirit in one, assign it services, then refocus to another domain and summon another spirit. But could he summon two air spirits to work for him (one summoning after the other, of course) and be on call?

I take the answer as an interpretation of the right-hand column, page 184, the fourth and fifth paragraphs.

You choose a domain relevant to where you are, and summon a spirit. So far, so groovy. If you leave that domain to summon a different spirit of a different domain, within the same location, the first spirit completes its already requested services and goes away. You can only summon one spirit in a given domain.

Thus: if you summoned one spirit, it goes poof when you summon the next. If you summon a spirit and change domains, it goes poof. Thus spake the RAW.